Bash script, watch folder, execute command

Question

I am trying to create a bash script with 2 parameters:

• a directory
• a command.

I want to watch the

Answer 1

If you only need to check for files being created/deleted on top level (not checking subfolders) you might want to use the following.

It uses few ressources hence it can react quickly, I use it to check for a changed file.

#!/bin/bash

file="$1"
shift

tmp=$(mktemp)
trap 'rm "$tmp"' EXIT

while true; do
    while [ ! "$tmp" -ot "$file" ]; do
        sleep 0.5
    done
    eval "$@ &"
    echo $! > "$tmp"
    wait
done